Sochi Olympics: New allegations of figure skating scoring scandal

It’s been 12 years since the Olympics were rocked by a score-fixing scandal in figure skating that led to a dramatic makeover in how performers were judged. Now, just a few days in to the Sochi Olympics, new accusations of similar nefarious actions have been just a few days into the latest Games. The French publication L’Equipe is reporting that a Russian coach, speaking anonymously, has said the United States and Russian judges have colluded to aid each others’ teams. The coach told L’Equipe that the Russian judge would help U.S. ice dancing duo Meryl Davis and Charlie White take home the gold in exchange for the U.S. judge helping Russia secure gold in the pairs and team events.

In this Oct. 18, 2013 file photo, Meryl Davis and Charlie White perform their ice dancing short dance program during a practice session at the Skate America figure skating competition in Detroit. World champions Davis and White should easily ice dance their way into the Sochi Olympics. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

In a statement to the press excerpted by the Chicago Tribune, the U.S. Figure Skating Association has denied any accusations of wrongdoing, calling the accusations “categorically false” and adding, “There is no ‘help’ between countries. We have no further response to rumors, anonymous sources or conjecture.”

There’s quite a nice rivalry between the U.S. team of Davis and White and the Canadian ice dancing duo, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, who won gold in the Vancouver games (and are the biggest team standing between that U.S. pair and gold in Sochi). The two teams share both a practice rink and a coach. The U.S. duo took the first battle between the two earlier today when they outscored the Canadian duo in the team event.

Michael Slipchuk, of Skate Canada, told the Toronto Sun, “We were made aware of the article from L’Equipe today and we feel it is best not to comment on it. Canada is confident that the results of competition will be determined where they should be, on the ice.”

Meanwhile, Slipchuk did find it interesting that seven of Canada’s skaters have been called in for doping tests since arriving in Sochi: “Our skaters don’t complain about it. … It’s just interesting.”